Knowing he needed to post a good number Sunday to catch Zahkai Brown, the 2009 HealthOne Colorado Open champion did just that. A bogey-free round of 6-under-par 65 at Green Valley Ranch was good enough for a four-day total of 14-under 270 and a one-shot victory over Brown.

“I needed something like this to kind of keep me going,” said Tolan, who became the first multiple winner of the event since Bill Loeffler won his third in 2004.”To win, especially in a tournament I care so much about, feels great.”

Tolan started the day five shots behind Brown and started in the group just ahead of the leader. Halfway through the round, Tolan had trimmed just one shot off Brown’s lead and was still two behind Joel Dahmen.

But the putter that had rescued Brown several times, including a 20-foot par make on No. 11, would ultimately hurt him.

“I just didn’t have it today,” said Brown, a recent Colorado State graduate who tied the tournament record on Saturday with an 8-under 63.

Back-to-back bogeys on holes 12 and 13 by Brown opened the door for Tolan, who made birdies on 13 and 14 to draw even.

“The wind started to pick up on the back side, and I told my caddie I wanted it to, because there were just so many demanding shots out there,” Tolan said. “So much can happen, and when it picked up a little bit, I hit some good shots.”

The roller coaster ride for Brown continued through 17 holes. A bogey on the 15th was followed by a dramatic 18-foot birdie on the 16th that tied him with Tolan.

But a three-putt bogey on No. 17 forced Brown to make eagle on the challenging, par-5 18th to force a playoff. He missed and finished the day with an even-par 71.

“I’m not mad or frustrated at all, because I played well to get to this situation,” said Brown, whose brother Zen finished in a tie for 12th. “I just need to be proud of what I accomplished.”

Tolan earned a $23,000 payday in addition to exemptions into the Canadian Tour’s Waterway Classic in September and this week’s Texas State Open, during which he’ll continue his quest to join the PGA Tour. He will be in Reno on Monday to try to qualify for the Reno-Tahoe Open.

“The one thing I’ve learned in this game, when I tee it up tomorrow, it doesn’t matter what I did today,” Tolan said. “The golf ball doesn’t know what you did, good or bad.”

James Drew of Las Vegas and Dustin Pimm of Sandy, Utah, tied for third, three shots back.

The 36-hole leader, Steven Kupcho, a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado, was the tournament’s low amateur, shooting a four-day total of 6-under 278.

Want a reason why the state of Colorado will be back in the NCAA Tournament in 2020? The Colorado Buffaloes have received 96.1 percent of their scoring, 96.9 percent of their rebounds and 97.3 percent of their assists from players other than seniors this winter. Up at Colorado State, first-year coach Niko Medved got 79.1 percent of his points, 88.8...